Rams won't have long-term success until they solidify offensive line

Rams won’t have long-term success until they solidify offensive line

Alden Gonzalez

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/34279/rams-wont-have-long-term-success-until-they-solidify-offensive-line

This offseason, the Rams signed a 35-year-old left tackle, Andrew Whitworth, to a three-year, $36 million contract. And they added John Sullivan, a soon-to-be-32-year-old who started one game over the last two years, to be their new center.

Telling.

The Rams drafted seven offensive linemen from 2014 to 2015, but not one of them has solidified yet. Greg Robinson, taken second overall with hopes that he would lock down left tackle for at least a half-decade, was traded for a sixth-round pick last month. Rob Havenstein, a second-round pick in 2015, is moving from right tackle to right guard after a down year. Jamon Brown, taken one round after Havenstein, is being tried out at right tackle in hopes of salvaging something. The others — Andrew Donnal, Cody Wichmann, Demetrius Rhaney and Mitchell Van Dyk — are either gone or on the bench.

Pro Football Focus, an analytics-based site that studies every player on every play, ranked the Rams’ offensive line 28th in 2015 and 27th in 2016, two seasons in which the offense finished last in the NFL in yards. Behind that offensive line last year, Todd Gurley averaged 3.2 yards per carry for an entire season and Jared Goff was sacked 25 times over a six-game stretch. Enter new offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, who replaces 30-year NFL veteran Paul Boudreau. Kromer spent the last two years coaching a Bills offensive line that helped lead the league in rushing and is intrigued by the Rams’ group because it is still very young.

Kromer needs to get the most out of what he has, but the front office needs to find the next wave.

Whitworth is still really, really good, but he is now too old to be considered a long-term solution. Sullivan was a solid player before back issues took their toll, but it’s hard to consider him anything more than a stopgap at this point. The Rams probably still need to identify a long-term solution at center, either in-house — Austin Blythe, recently claimed off waivers, could be one — or elsewhere. At some point, they also need to draft their left tackle of the future and actually hit on him.

It’s a dicey proposition. Thirteen left tackles were taken in the first round from 2012 to ’16. Those 13 have combined for two Pro Bowl invites, one each from Matt Kalil and Taylor Lewan. The proliferation of spread offenses has made it very difficult to evaluate collegiate offensive line play, to the point where it may no longer be worth it to take such a gamble on a spot as difficult to master as left tackle. The Rams learned that lesson with Robinson in 2014. Soon, they’ll take another chance and hope to do a lot better.

The success of Gurley and Goff — and thus, the long-term stability of their franchise — depends on it.